The meaning "use money to produce profit" first attested 1610s in connection with the East Indies trade, and is probably a borrowing of a special use of Italian investire (13c.) from the same Latin root, via the notion of giving one's capital a new form. Figurative sense of "to clothe (with attributes)" is from c. 1600. The military meaning "to besiege, surround with hostile intent" also is from c. 1600. Related: Invested; investing.